Battle of Ouessant
The Battle of Ouessant (French: Bataille d'Ouessant) took place on 18 June 1763 and was fought between Grandelumierian and British fleets 30 miles (42 km) northeast of Ouessant, an island off of the western point of Brittany. The battle was the first major naval engagement of the War of the British Succession and the second British victory. Background In 1763, Grandelumiere made plans to invade the British Isles with the intent of placing the Jacobite pretender James VIII & III on the thrones. A plan was hatched and transports made to cross large numbers of troops across the channel prepared. The fleets of Brest and Toulon were merged at Brest with the Comte de Beaumont in command of the Armada, and on the 17th of June sailed from the harbour with the intent of drawing the Royal Navy into a decisive fight. After leaving the harbour, Beaumont dispatched the Comte de Conflans with twenty ships of the line north to protect the passage between Ouessant and the Channel while the rest of the fleet sailed further west to join with a Spanish fleet that had been some time in coming. In the Channel, after his victory at Dunkerque, Rear-Admiral George Rodney was given an additional twelve ships of the line and another frigate to bolster his squadron and set sail from Portsmouth on the 17th, bound for the Norman coast to join with the remainder of the British fleet which was soon to depart from Cardiff. By chance, a northern gale forced Rodney's squadron south off of the Breton coast. They sailed so close to the coast that the king's own party sighted them off of Morlaix, upon returning from a naval departure ceremony in Brest. Upon the passing of the ships into view, the king remarked, "What colours be those?" ''To which the Prince-Bishop of Strasbourg replied, ''"The devil's colours, Sire." Battle Conflans, against unfavourable winds, passed Ouessant slowly, drifting towards the Breton coast while Rodney finally turned north once more to head in the direction of Cornwall. In the afternoon of the 18th, Dauphin Royal spotted Rodney's squadron. Conflans quickly came to the realisation that the English fleet had not yet joined and was still fragmented amongst many squadrons in the Channel, and thus gave chase to Rodney. Rodney divided his squadron into two divisions, one on either side of the Grandelumierian vanguard. By now, winds had shifted to the northeast, and Conflan's own squadron began to diverge into two groups. One came up on the right of the British fleet, and the other went through the middle of the two divisions. The first shots were fired from the HMS'' Magnanime at ''Orient, who after a brief duel with Magnanime ''and then HMS Chichester'', broke off from combat with her front mast fallen. As the ships drew up against one another and the battle reached its zenith, Robuste ''capsised, and as winds shifted to the southeast, a more favourable wind for the English. Rodney's ships began to turn about and surround the tangled Grandelumierian fleet. HMS ''Achilles, Rodney's flagship, began a magnificent exchange with Conflan's own Soleil Royal. A foundering Northumberland (A gift from George II to Marie IV) collided with HMS Venus. Tonnant ''defeated both HMS ''Minerva ''and HMS ''Mars ''simultaneously, with both ships sinking. ''Tonnant ''subsequently foundered and ran aground in the Aber Benoît. Around 8 PM, ''Soleil Royal sunk amidst the confusing and chaotic mess of ships. Now exhausted and demoralised by their heavy losses, the Grandelumierian fleet began to flee from the British trap. Of the twenty ships that began the battle, only thirteen left the site, of those, only ten made successfully made it back to port in Brest. Rodney's ships only suffered three losses in total, two by the valiant Tonnant and one other frigate, HMS Sapphire which foundered and wrecked against Île Vierge. Aftermath The Chevalier d'Uturbie Fragosse, aboard the ''Dauphin Royal, ''took command over the remnants of Conflans' squadron and led what ships he could back to port in Brest for repairs. Rodney's squadron likewise returned to port at Plymouth rather than pursuing the remnants of Conflans' fleet thinking he had delivered a decisive blow to the Grandelumierian invasion effort. The main strength of Grandelumiere at sea would yet escape the Royal Navy and join with their Spanish allies and deliver a decisive defeat to the Royal Navy off of Scilly some days later.Category:Grandelumierian Battles Category:War of the British Succession